Well permits, BH2O+

• we received the well permits on Thursday and all four wells were approved
• BH₂O+ is an experimental event Nuru is putting on with universities across country
• Christine's and Maurice's catchments were completed bringing the total to five
• Aerie and I met the MP, or member of parliament, for the Kuria district

In the past I have referenced my three main projects here in Kuria, Kenya. The first one I have described pretty thoroughly, the rainwater catchment, but the other two may still be a bit of a mystery. This week, I'll be going into a little bit of the detail on the second project, our deep wells or as we call it, Water for Schools.

Water for Schools is a program we are organizing to bring wells to four of the local schools as they are centrally located and publicly available. Each school also has a security guard at night that will be able to protect the well, securing Nuru's investment in the community.

On Monday we finally got the call we have been expecting from the water ministry for just over a week. They told Lucas all of our information for our well drilling permits was sufficient and we could come sign one last piece of paper and collect our permits. Lucas made the five hour trip to Kisumu on Tuesday, returning late Wednesday night and I had the permits in hand at our meeting on Thursday morning. The well permits are written approval by the Kenyan government for us to physically drill the four deep wells we are hoping to drill. Now we can begin the discussion with a drilling partner and work to raise the funds necessary for the drilling. Here is an example of one of the four well permits, this one for Taragwiti Primary School.

One way we are working to raise money for drilling is through an experimental event we are organizing with universities across the country called BH₂O+ or Bring Hope to Her. From the website,

What Happens on April 23, 2009

BH₂O+ is designed to be a day of solidarity as students become advocates for those living without access to clean water in the developing world. During the event, ladies on campus will step into the daily experience of women in Africa by walking to a water source and carrying a bucket of water on their heads back to the rally point; simultaneously, guys will sweep the campus, inviting every student to embrace awareness and attend the rally following the solidarity walk.

BH₂O+ will be an excellent opportunity to raise awareness of the plight of women and girls in Africa who spend hours a day collecting water for their families. It will also serve as means to work towards a solution by providing up to four reliable, accessible, and clean sources of water for families in Kuria, Kenya. Students from each of the currently eleven schools participating are organizing and orchestrating the event, all of them joining the fight against extreme poverty. Please take a moment to check out the three and a half minute video explaining more about BH₂O+.

The rainwater catchment program is chugging along. We have finished off Christine's this past Monday and started and finished Maurice's this week as well. Maurice's catchment has been my favorite so far because it was wholly and completely done by the leaders.

Nuru's goal is to enter into an area of extreme poverty, work very hard with the community for a brief amount of time, and then withdraw before the community can become dependent on us. Part of the process to move towards the withdrawal is fostering independence and leadership within the community. Maurice's catchment was a huge step in that direction for the w+s program.

Going into Maurice's catchment I had told the leaders that I would not be helping them in any way, even if they messed up. I would observe them but not make any comments until the end of the day when we de-briefed. I had faith that they would be able to manage any problems themselves, a faith that was vindicated. The leaders did an excellent job placing the gutters despite Maurice's roof line being the most complex of the five we have dealt with. On the second day, the leaders completed the foundation completely independent of my guidance, I only provided manual labor.

The absolute best part of the foundation was that the leaders did not need a fundi (local worker) to finish it off. The leaders have been doing the foundation construction themselves since Pauline's, the third catchment, but they have always had problems with plastering. Plastering involves throwing cement on the sides of the foundation above ground to protect the less than weather proof bricks from the elements. It's very hard and requires patience and persistence to fight gravity with wet cement on a vertical surface. Maurice volunteered to do the job and the plastering ended up looking like it was done by a skilled fundi. In fact, after he had finished, Maurice came up to me and said, "Chris see, we don't need a fundi, I AM A FUNDI!!!!" and we exchanged a huge and loud hand slap, something you do between close friends. You would have needed a yard stick to measure the smile across my face after that.

Aerie and I had the unique experience of being introduced to the MP, or member of parliament, for the Kuria district. Nuru has not been involved with the government beyond the local level. We focus our projects locally so we like to keep our involvement within the community. On Saturday the MP was making a visit to see how his community was doing and to get updates from the local chiefs and elders. He had heard of the work Nuru was doing within his community and was hoping to get the chance to meet us. Interestingly enough, we ran into his convoy as we were driving down the road to grab some groceries before heading home. He had stopped to inspect the progress on a much needed bridge being built on one of the main arteries to Nymetaburo, where we do a significant amount of work. We work closely with the MP's local representative, called a counselor, who made the introduction for us as we got off our piki piki (motorcycle) our helmets still in hand.

The MP was very thankful for our work and we had a brief discussion where he told us of the projects he has in the works for the community, a key one being a power line to Nymetaburo, currently without power. We were happy our meeting was brief because we don't want to get too wrapped up in the realm of politics as an NGO. Showing bias or favoritism from either side can lead to a difficult relationship with the community, hindering our ability to do our work. We plan to keep our heads down, make sure everyone is informed, and keep up our fight against extreme poverty.

five new pictures